


Slipper Orchids

by carzula



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Post-Sburb/Sgrub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carzula/pseuds/carzula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You turn back to him with an apologetic smile on your face. "Sorry, what’d you say?"</p>
<p>Karkat’s not looking at you as he quietly repeats himself; he’s staring intently at the flora that filled up the entire room.</p>
<p>"Humans are so fucking weird.”"</p>
<p>In which Karkat Vantas takes a cultural excursion with Jade Harley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slipper Orchids

“And this is my nursery.” You turn to the very last door and reach to open it. The two of you had spent the better part of the day wandering around your house, with you stopping every so often to formally show him the more notable rooms.

“What the fuck is a nursery? Isn’t that where you store human babies?” 

You scoff, “No, I mean like a plant nursery. A room to keep your plants.” 

“Jade, that is illogical for an expansive variety of reasons, though I’ll just stick with the fact that literally every room we’ve been in has had some sort of plant lying around.” At this point he was actively seeking out ways to criticize aspects of your house, most of which you just laughed at. Honestly, you’ve found Karkat’s frustration over human culture to just be really entertaining to watch.

You roll your eyes, “Well I’m sooooo sorry that I’ve exceeded what you would consider an acceptable amount of plants in my own house.” 

“You know what? Because of that pisspoor apology you just guaranteed my bitching and moaning until we finish this tour. Enjoy Harley, because you’ve fucking earned it.” He quietly laughs to himself and a row of crooked, pointy teeth poke out from his lips in a way you find kinda cute.

“Karkat, you haven’t stopped bitching since we’ve stepped into my house,” you mention, “But that’s besides the point. This room is my favorite and arguably the coolest one so pack away the rest of your complaining for later.”

You turn back to the door and swing it open with one hand while dragging Karkat inside by the other.

Being honest, you’ve been putting gardening on the backburner for a while. When you lived alone, you’ve had all the time you wanted to care for every plant; now everything’s been so busy with all your friends that you’ve only been popping in once every few days to water them.

You scan over the room quickly before gravitating towards the Oriental Lillies you’ve been keeping close watch on. They’ve been getting big and you think that they’re gonna have to be moved to a bigger pot soon.

You’re all the way across the room and are about to check on the soil when you realize Karkat had said something to you.

You turn back to him with an apologetic smile on your face. “Sorry, what’d you say?”  
Karkat’s not looking at you as he quietly repeats himself; he’s staring intently at the flora that filled up the entire room, “Humans are so fucking weird.”

You chuckle loudly and dig your fingers into the dirt of your lilies, “So I’ve heard.”

There’s a stretch of silence for a grand total of a few seconds before Karkat speaks up again, “What the hell are you even doing with your hands in there?”

You remove your hand from the pot carefully and rub the dirt between your fingers. A little dry you suppose, but that’s nothing some fertilizer won’t take care of.

“I was checking the soil. It’s a little dry so I’m gonna have to mix fertilizer in.”

He watches over your shoulder, “Oh.”

You nod and glance around the room for a bag but before you find one you catch sight of your Slipper Orchids.

You gasp loudly and dash over to them with a happy little squeal building up in your throat.

Karkat follows behind you and scrutinizes the orchids silently to see what’s got you so excited.

"Harley, though I admit these are nice looking flowers, I really don’t see what you’re flipping a shit over.”

“Well, I had to move them to this new pot about a year ago after the old one got a crack in it. And since orchids hate switching pots I didn’t expect any more flowers for at least a few more months. But here they are.” You fix your glasses as you look back at him with a giant smile on your face.

Karkat nodded, but the look on his face showed he still didn’t have a clue why you were so happy.

You wear a proud smile on your face as you pick up the large pot with both your arms and make your way back to the center of the atrium, placing it down near your crabapple tree.

“They’ve always been one of my favorites to plant. A lot of people have trouble with orchids because they could be so temperamental,” you wipe your hands on your skirt as you step back next to Karkat, “but the it’s just so much more rewarding when a little extra tlc pays off.”

He doesn’t seem to have anything to say, which is uncommon for him. So there you stand in silence, with you admiring the orchids and him, another view.

As you eyes land on a bag of fertilizer near the door you remember the liliies.

“Oh!” Your voice breaks the through the quiet, “There’s the fertilizer.”

You walk up to the bag and are about to pick it up before Karkat finally speaks up.

“Jade.”

“Huh?” You turn back toward him.

He pauses for a moment. “Do you want help?”

You laugh softly before picking up the bag of fertilizer and replying, “Hehehe, you don’t have to. I can lift this bag fine.”

Karkat rolls his eyes and the bag is deftly lifted from your hands, “Harley, I didn’t ask if you needed help. I’d have to be even more of a babbling idiot to see you as anything less than competent. What I asked is if you _wanted_ help.”

You blink in surprise and are taken aback for a solid ten seconds before your mouth babbles its way into semi-coherence.

“Oh. Um,” Your cheeks are tinged pink as you nod, forcing yourself to look him straight on in the eyes, “Yeah. That’d be really nice. Thank you.”

-

You had expected it be much more difficult in all honesty.

Though a lot about gardening wasn’t all that hard to learn, it requires a lot of patience and tenderness and a whole laundry list of qualities that Karkat notoriously didn’t possess.

But you’ve found that his hands were surprisingly gentle when they checked on the soil of the Hydrangeas. There was obvious care taken when he neatly replanted the tulips so they’d be in rows by color, from violet to red to orange to yellow.

Sometimes, he’s let himself in to do some work alone and you’d watch him quietly from the doorjamb. His usual scowling expression always softens as he meanders around to every plant and that’d always make you smile softly and turn away from the door to leave him alone.

Most times though, the two of you come in together. You’d pick a snack off one of your fruit trees and eat as Karkat would comment on your enjoyment of fruit with distaste. Then you’d go off to whichever flora first catches your attention and work until you both get distracted by conversation.

After that you’d probably both be sitting down in the middle of your atrium speaking in low voices, with dirt all over your hands and beautiful things growing all around you.

**Author's Note:**

> I was kinda surprised I forgot to get this up here for a while. Jadekat is my end all otp. 
> 
> Anyways, I have a couple more jadekat ficlets in the wraps that could be going up within the next week or two.


End file.
